The Wilmingtonian., 1887-12-24
A CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS, 1859.
BY KATE VAN NORMA GIBSON.

We reached California late in the fall of
1852, and before we knew it could be winter
m a country where the grass was freshly
sprouting and the trees bright and green,
Christmas was upon us, and no turkey in the
state. The children held solemn conclave
and concluded that Santa Claus could never
get so far, besides there was no snow for his
sleigh to travel on.
As l said, there was probably not one
turkey in the whole state, and though there
were few chickens, no one would have con-
sented for moment to kill them when eggs
were worth 81 apiece. So our hopes for an
old fashioned Christmas fell far below zero,
and in spite of our best endeavors we felt
little blue and homesick.
There was plenty of the poor Spanish beef
to be obtained, and also veal, but a sucking
pig would have beeu an impossibility, and
there was absolutely no fruit in the country
except such as grew wild, and, of course,
there was none at this season, but the genius
of women for making something out of moth
ing is proverbial, and the men of the family
thought the women would pull through some
how, though how was that to be without fruit,
eggs, milk or cream, or, indeed, anything ex-
cept bayou beans, Spanish beef and a very
few potatoes, and no onions to season any
thing with, nor knivesa This was in what is
Oakland now, but at that time there were but
three wooden houses and few tents there.
The two women put their heads together
and finally decided that they could at least
make plum pudding, but in the little
''storen there were no raisins, nothing but
dried apples They bought six eggs, paying
IS for them, considering the season, and took
some dried apples. These were put to soak
over night and on Christmas morning they
were chopped into small bits, and with the
eggs and plentiful supply of molasses, flour
and suet, big pudding was put into bag
and over the fire to boil This success stimu-
lated the women to try an apple pie or so.
In the meantime big rib of beef was duly
salted and peppered and surrounded with
potatoes, and was made ready to put in the
oven when Uncle Charlie, who was q mighty
hunter, suddenly made his appearance with
q big fat goose in one hand and fire big
turkey, as we thought, in the other, both
plrcked and dressed, ready for the oven.
Some one was sent to buy an onion, as the
grandmother said the goose really must have
onion in the stufing, and for that one little
onion, no larger than an egg, we paid 81
and were glad to get it at that price. Grand
mother brought out her wonderful bag of
herbs and little of very precious sage, and
summer savory was s1fted into tine dressing
and the two fine birds were put down to cook,
and we all began to rejoice that even in far
Off California Christmas was not quite lost.
The two birds now cooking had been shot
early that morning. One was a honker
goose and the other was an enormous sand
hill crane, or, as they were then called, Cali
fornia turkey. These immense birds grow
very fat and are really delicious eating, as
we found at dinner time. And when the
table was laid out with the finest Linen ami
choice dishes that had followed the family
fortunes 'saround the Horn,n that dinner
was voted a success, but the pudding, covered
with blazing brandy, looked just as Christ
mas like as if it had been a real plum one,
though it had sprig of "live oak" instead
of holly in it, and although it did not take
quite as good.
After dinner we had games, and though
| the children missed the hanging up Of the
stockings, they went TO bed happy in the
hope, afterward fulfilled, that Santa Claus
might get there by New Years, seeing that
they lived too far away for him to reach
them on Christmas.